In Money-Changers We Trust

The Creeping Fascism of American Politics

FOCUS: States Unite Against Citizens United

Cut It Out: An Open Letter to Black Bloc Anarchists

Dimon's Deja Vu Debacle

This Is What Tyranny Looks Like

Robert Scheer writes: "Orszag's replacement as head of the Office of Management and Budget, Jacob J. Lew, was both a member of Rubin's Hamilton Project and a former Citigroup executive - thus ensuring that government of the banks, by the banks, for the banks shall not perish from the Earth."

President Barack Obama walks out to speak followed by his economic advisory team: Timothy Geithner, Hilda Solis, Peter Orszag, Christina Romer, Gary Locke and Larry Summers at the White House, 05/07/10. (photo: Getty Images)

Comments

We are concerned about a recent drift towards vitriol in the RSN Reader comments section. There is a fine line between moderation and censorship. No one likes a harsh or confrontational forum atmosphere. At the same time everyone wants to be able to express themselves freely. We'll start by encouraging good judgment. If that doesn't work we'll have to ramp up the moderation.

General guidelines: Avoid personal attacks on other forum members; Avoid remarks that are ethnically derogatory; Do not advocate violence, or any illegal activity.

Remember that making the world better begins with responsible action.

- The RSN Team

+5 # María Eugenia Sáez 2010-12-29 12:16

A smiling dictator who does not torture but hahaha maybe he did, like W, is all that is left for the plutocratic US, which is no longer a Christian nation, but in the hands of moneylenders and usurers of dubious origins and loyalties.

+8 # Slim 2010-12-29 12:29

A regular Banana republic, in other words.

+2 # BanKanaRepublic... 2010-12-30 07:58

...becoming just like the United Kingdom (Bankster's Paradise) across the pond.

Mr. Scheer reminds me of a quote from the movie "King Arthur" (2004)- "Ahh, finally, a man worth killing."- Cerdic

+10 # LiberalLibertarian 2010-12-29 12:58

Maria,

I agree with your point, except America has NEVER been a Christian nation.

We are by design a non religious nation. All believers and non believers follow the same laws.

+8 # Dorothy Hart 2010-12-29 12:51

I'm still waiting for the change that we were promised by Mr. Obama in 2008, but it looks like business as usual! I'm sick of the Politicians saying they have our interest at heart, and then hiring the big Citigroup people to help with the economy!!! HA!! The only thing a finance Co. cares about is how much it will benefit them!

Screw the big Government!

+5 # m 2010-12-29 12:53

Come on Folks..! Let's all sing along...

OH... WE ALL LIVE IN A CORPORATACRACY... A CORPORATACRACY ... A COPORATACRACY...

.........WE ALL LIVE IN A COPORATACRACY... A CORPORATACRACY...A COPORATACRACY...

.........WE ALL LIVE IN A COPORATACRACY... A CORPORATACRACY...A COPORATACRACY...

AS WE SAIL OVER AMBER WAVES..., OF CORPORATE MODIFIED... FIELDS GRAINS....

AND THROUGH OUR TUBES FILLED WITH RAGE.... AND ALL THE REASONS TO HATE THE GAYS.

AND SO WE BANK.... ON THOSE WHO LEAD... TO BE THE ONES WHO SAVE THE DAY.... EVEN THOUGH.... IT ALWAYS STAYES THE SAME...

AND WHILE THE DREAM... JUST DRIFTS AWAY... LOOK AROUND.AT THOSE... WHO STOLE THE DAY....

SUITS AND TIES AND CAMERA SMILES... WHILE THEY PLAN THEIR LIVES ON OUR THE BOTTOM LINE...

OH... WE ALL LIVE IN A CORPORATACRACY... A CORPORATACRACY ... A COPORATACRACY...

.........WE ALL LIVE IN A COPORATACRACY... A CORPORATACRACY...A COPORATACRACY...

.........WE ALL LIVE IN A COPORATACRACY... A CORPORATACRACY...A COPORATACRACY...

+4 # Daniel Fletcher 2010-12-29 21:12

I don't know if I should laugh or I should cry. I think I'll cry.

+2 # m 2010-12-30 13:59

I was kind of laughing out the stress the article stirred in me while, for some reason, I had the tune Yellow Submarine playing in my head at the same time.. :)

+12 # AngryMan 2010-12-29 13:10

I have thumped on Obama a lot. He is not the person I helped elect. Those who criticize my "take" and tell me that in the next two years, Obama will turn out beautifully, are delusional. This article explains why. Advisers Obama has selected are the very people who engineer disasters. Things will not get "better" until Obama gets advisers that are concerned more about this country than lining their own pockets. And two years is insufficient time to get new advisers and pass meaningful legislation. This is especially true because Republicans intend to take apart what little Obama has already done, starting in January. Like I said before ... the game is over and America has lost.

Democrats gave a majority to both the House and the Senate. Then they gave Obama the oval office. Obama had it all and he utterly wasted the opportunity of a lifetime. Obama admonished his base for being "purists" and dissatisfied with his performance. Republicans must be laughing their asses off. Say goodbye to Social Security, folks. Republicans will privatize this country all the way to the junk yard. Thanks a lot Barack.

+5 # Daniel Fletcher 2010-12-29 21:16

Yes AngryMan, who'd have thought Obama would have been the biggest gift the Rethugliecons could have ever received?

McCain could not, on his best day or in his wildest imagination, have more successfully softened the nation up better for the slaughter to come.

If the Dems put up Obama in 2012, and Palin runs against him, she's got my vote. I want to at least be less confused on whose screwing me when I'm getting raped. Pardon my vulgarity, but that's exactly how I feel.

+5 # Karlus 2010-12-29 13:16

....you can only stop, take a deep breath, and wonder where is Abraham, Martin, or John....

+6 # Truth Not Myth 2010-12-29 15:13

And WHERE is Joe Dimaggio also? The Bridge over Troubled Waters has yet to be built it would seem. Once a great nation dedicated to Democracy defined as the reduction of the disparity between Rich and Poor. Need I tell anyone what happened to that DREAM. And as for the Hope that the Young might save us as they have in the past, fact is that they are at this very moment getting smashed out of their brains on 'Car Bombs' which for the uninitiated consist of a Jameson Irish Whisky mixed with Bailey's Irish Cream in a double Shot Glass and the whole thing glass and all dropped into a Half Pint of Guiness to be drunk down NEAT as it foams up in the glass like Alka Seltzer. Watching them do this you can see their eyes glaze over and roll around in their heads and nearly pass out from the shock to their system. And if you need ask WHY they do this, the answer is that they need to ESCAPE from the Emptiness of their Corporate Life chained to the Terminal all day. Get it Straight, ORWELL was the most prophetic GENIUS in ALL HISTORY!

+1 # Truth Not Myth 2010-12-29 15:05

I am sure I speak for everyone here and for that matter Robert Scheer that we are all so tired of having to speak the very same Truths over and over again and for the obvious reason that no one but ourselves seems to be Listening. Let's face it, Obama is really just a typical Middle Class dude whose primary interest is getting his 'Piece of the Pie'. We can be sure the dude looks in the mirror and Loves what He Sees, i.e., 'HEY I'm the PRESIDENT' calling his wife over to confirm his High opinion of himself and the success of his Political Life. "Hey Michelle, U married to the President, aren't you Proud?" And as a Middle Class dude he does NOT identify with Leftists or Progressives either. Like the rest of the Middle Class all he wanted was to succeed in his 'Field' so that he could attain all the Quality of Life rewards of same. And this of course includes his Credit Status, the dude is PROUD to have Good Friends in Wall Street and amongst the CEOs of the Banks. The Progressives and genuine 'still alive' Liberals who voted for him to be the Great Black Hope to bring real CHANGE to Washington were NAIVE to believe ONE Man could achieve such and Obama wasn't that man to start with.

+7 # Vicki 2010-12-29 15:50

We bought our house in 1993, refinanced, mainly to pay tuition debt, never late or missed payments. The last loan was interest-only before adjusting after 5 yrs. It was sold several times. For a yr pre-adjustment, I failed to obtain loan modification. We needed principal reduction, the bank said no, but was willing to short sale to other buyers. I'm a 59-yr old RN w/ a good work history. My husband retired last fall with a decent pension. Then I was laid off, had to work out of state for 9 mos. Housing values sunk more in so. CA; we had planned to sell when no longer underwater. In Feb., with prices still falling, we chose to stop throwing money down the drain, intending to stay as long as possible to save money for future housing needs. For the last 3 mos. I've not been able to find a job. I spend full-time hrs looking. This Nov. 1: foreclosure. Today the bank's proxy agent contacted us to negotiate "cash for keys." I started at $50,000. The guy laughed at me. We've no money after blowing through savings, no jobs, 2 dogs. Nobody'll rent to us under these conditions. I fear that soon we'll truly be homeless. I don't want to cry, but can't help it. I'm afraid.

+5 # Daniel Fletcher 2010-12-29 21:30

Vicki, I am horrified for you and for all that are in your predicament. The bastards that did this to you are living quite well thank you very much, while your life is going to hell. Damn this nation for making it possible to do all the right things, work hard, live right and still land on the streets with little more than the clothing on your backs. Your numbers will swell Vicki. I am awed and frightened to think of this. Others will parse your comments to come up with explanations for how this was somehow your fault. Don't believe it. I won't tell you what I'd do in your place but I will tell you this: fight them to your last breath. Never give up. Be a thorn in the establishments hide at every opportunity. Make noise. Do not go down without a hall of a fight, and remain open for hope. Get some good legal advice. See if you can tie this up in the courts for the next couple of years and keep on looking for work, any work. Just keep fighting. You must for your own good.

+2 # MillerLew 2010-12-30 22:24

Vicki,

The next time you are laughed at by someone who refuses to help you, as that abominable excuse for a human did, you might say:

"Just wait. Your turn is coming. I hope and pray that someday you will be in the same fix I am in. You will have earned it, and I will laugh at you as loudly as you laugh at me, and I hope nobody help you."

This response is most definitely not "Christian charity," but neither is the behavior of the thieves who are destroying your life and ruining this country.

My late mother used this argument to good effect many times, and I have followed her example. It will not stop the official from destroying your life, but I have found that it always stops him (or her) in his tracks. It's an uncomfortable turn of the screw that he prefers not to consider.

Good luck to you. I hope everything goes well for you eventually.

+6 # DaveW. 2010-12-30 09:51

Vicki, I'd like to endorse my friend Daniel Fletcher's comments below. Paris Hilton is getting a tax break and you're about to end up on the streets. You kept your part of the "American Bargain." While you were doing that however, nefarious forces were diligently at work undermining you and gorging themselves at the trough of gluttony. The next time you hear someone say "God Bless America" ask them why the hell he would. And if you ever get the opportunity to spit in the face of some sanctimonious sonofabitch, kissing babies, gladhanding and wearing a flag lapel pin on his Gucci suit, spit squarely in the bastards eye. Good luck Vicki!

+5 # LD 2010-12-29 17:30

Here's a nice read, dated, 2/1/02, about Citibank, Rubin, and AIG in all this morass:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHI202C.html

"American International Group, the insurance giant, has long been tied to the CIA and the military, and its board (not coincidentally) also includes Enron director Frank Wisner Jr.

Citigroup over the years has been repeatedly charged with money laundering. Citigroup's board includes John Deutch, former CIA Director, Robert Rubin, former Treasury secretary and intimate friend to Ken Lay (who personally and financially intervened to bail out the collapsing Enron), and retired Executive Director of the CIA Nora Slatkin."

+3 # Charles Lamont 2010-12-30 06:14

No news here. Obama has filled his top ecnomic and financial posts with the same group of Government Sachs drones for two years. In fact, if you follow the money, Obama is simply and soley a slave, a house negro, for vested interests -- including the Republican Party.

+3 # Vicki 2010-12-30 10:42

Thank you so much, Daniel and Drew. You both have reminded me to stay angry and act constructively.

+1 # Daniel Fletcher 2010-12-30 21:50

Quoting

Thank you so much, Daniel and Drew. You both have reminded me to stay angry and act constructively.

That's the spirit! Don't let them get you down! Stay angry and indeed, act constructively. Anger turned inward becomes depression. Do all you can to NOT get depressed. The antidote is to constantly remind yourself of what is happening that you don't deserve...and you deserve none of it, and who's doing it to you. Focus outward in your struggle and keep striving. Dave, myself and our families I'm sure are hoping for the best for you.

+4 # hankbob 2010-12-30 12:15

Will the real Obama please stand up!

+2 # Truth Not Myth 2010-12-30 14:43

You asked and HERE HE IS NOW. Introduce yourself Mr. Obama.

"It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood
yes a wonderful day in the neighborhood, won't you be mine, won't you be mine, won't you be my NEIGHBOR."

+1 # Daniel Fletcher 2010-12-30 21:51

Quoting

Will the real Obama please stand up!

Kinda' hard to stand without a spine I suppose. What exactly do you suppose he stands for? Beats me.

+2 # barfulious 2010-12-30 18:04

Dance puppets dance!

Refresh comments list
RSS feed for comments to this post.

THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community.

rsn

Name:	*
Username:	*
E-mail:	*
Password:	*
Confirm password:	*
Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.